Vanished Westinghouse estate here yields some secrets

George Westinghouse IV greeted archaeologist Christine Davis with a handshake and a question: "Did you find the grave?"

A startled look flashed over Davis' face. Last fall, she and her crew had done exploratory excavations on his great-grandfather's Point Breeze estate -- now Westinghouse Park -- and found a tantalizing array of artifacts, but no tombstones.

"What grave?" she ventured.

"Thomas Edison is buried in the back yard," Westinghouse said.

At that, the archaeologist and the heir had a good laugh.

The rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse is legendary. For about a decade in the late 19th century, the question of the day was, which of their systems would be the first to electrify the country -- direct current, promoted by Edison, or alternating current, developed by Nikola Tesla, who sold the patent to Westinghouse?